IlIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 
f ■, ■ f 

# — ^, 

I UNITED ST.ATKS UF AMERICA. J 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/circularletterofOOunit 



CTROXJI.AJR LETTER 

OP 
RELATIVE TO N?/>>J^' "■' ' 

COMMERCIAL INTEKCOUESE, CAPTURED, ABANDONED, 
AND CONFISCABLE PROPERTY, FREEDMEN, ETC. 



^V6^ 



CIllCULAR LETTER. 



TiiEASuRY Department, 

Jum 27, 1865. 
The various rules uiid regulations heretofore prescribed by the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, in reg.-ird to the above named subjects, having been 
rendered nugatory in whole or in part by the changed condition of affairs 
in the southern Stntes and Executive orders and proclamations, and the 
War Department having assumed charge of freedmen, abandoned lands, 
(fcc, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1865, 
the following instructions as to the duties of officers of the Treasury 
Department in the premises are prescribed, and Avill be regarded as in 
full force and effect immediately on the receipt thereof by any officer 
whose action is in any wise affected thereby: 

1. All restrictions on connnercial intercourse in and with States and 
parts of States heretofore declai'ed in insurrection, and on the purchase, 
transportation, and sale of the products thereof, are removed; except as 
to the transportation thereto or therein of arms, ammunition, articles 
from which ammunition is made, gray uniforms, and gray cloth; and 
except, also, those relating to property heretofore purch.-ised by the agents 
or captured by or sun-endcred to the militai-y forces of the United States. 
Nor will ;iny fees or taxes be charged or collected except those imposed 
by the customs ;ind intcrn:il revenue hnvs. And the supervision neces- 
sary to prevent the shipment of the prohibited articles will be exercised 
only by the regular and ordinary officers of the customs, acting under 
the revenue laws of the United States. 

2. Subordinate officers discharging duties in regard to commercial 
intercourse, under the regulations referred to, will consider tlieii' official 
connection with this Department as terminating with the 30th. instant, 
without farther notice. 

3. Agents for the purchase of products of insurrectionary States on 
Government account will close their official business, east of the Missis- 
sippi, with the transnctions of the loth instant; and west of it, with the 
transactions of the 24th instant; returning to sellers all property or 
money received or collected since those dates, respectively, and using 
such dispatch in the premises that their connection with the Department 
may, if possible, terminate with the 30th instant. 

4. Officers of this Department charged with the duty of receiving and 
collecting, or having in their possession or under their control, captured 
abandoned, or confiscable personal property, will dispose of the same, in 
accordance with regulations on the subject heretofore prescribed, at the 
earliest time consistent with the public interests, and will refrain from receiv- 
ing such from miiitiiry or naval authorities after the 30th instant. This will 
not be constiued, however, as interfering with the operations of the agents 
oiotv engaged in receiving or collecting the property recently captured, 
by or surrendered to the forces of the United States, whether or not 
covered by or included in the records, &c., delivered to the United States 
military or Treasury authoi-ities, by rebel militai-y officers or cotton 
agents. Those so acting will continue to discharge the duties thus im- 
posed until such property is all received or satisfactorily accounted for, 



and until the amount so secured is shipped or otherwise disposed of under 
the reguhitions on the subject, heretofoi-e presci-ibed. And they will 
use all the means at their command, with the utmost vigor, to the end 
that all the property so collected, captured, or tui-ned over shall be 
secured to the United States with the least possible cost and delay. 

After the 30th instant, the duty of receiving captured and abandoned 
property not embraced in the above exception will be discharged by the 
usual and regular officers of the customs, at the several places where 
they may be located, in accordance with regulations relating to the sub- 
ject; and officers heretofore performing that duty will give them all the 
aid and information in their power to enable them to carry out the same. 

5. Officers of this Department charged with the care or supervision 
of, or having in their possession or under their control, any abandoned 
or confiscable lands, houses, and tenements, will turn them over to a duly 
authorized officer of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned 
Lands, so far as they may be required or demanded by the same, together 
with all moneys, books, records, and papers arising from or relating to 
the property so turned over, taking proper receipts or vouchers therefor. 
This rule will also govern the action of all agents of this Department 
connected in any way with the care of Freedmen, etc., so far as it may 
be applicable. 

And all persons asking for any information in regard to the property 
so turned over, or for the release of the same, or for the release of any 
proceeds or moneys arising therefi-om, will be referred to the Commis- 
.sioner of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, at Washington, to 
whom communications on the subject should be addressed. 

6. Officers of this Department having in their possession or under their 
control any moneys Avhatever arising from I'ees collected under the com- 
mercial intercourse regulations, (except those collected for the benefit of 
freedmen, which will be disposed of under section 5,) or from the sales of 
captured, abandoned, or confiscable personal property, will forthwith de- 
posit the same with the nearest Assistant Treasui-er, Designated Depos- 
itary, or Deposit Bank, (keeping the amounts from the different sources 
separate,) to the credit of H. A. Risley, Esq., Supervising Special 
Agent, &;c., taking therefor receipts in quadruplicate — which receipts 
must show whence the sums were received — one of which will be retained 
by the officer so depositing, one forthwith sent to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, one to the Commissioner of Customs, and one to Mr. Risley,. 
at Washington. 

7. All offi.cers above referred to, except proper officers of the customs, 
acting exclusively under the revenue laws, will, after they have closed 
their official business, as above directed, and sold at auction, to the highest 
bidder, the furniture and property remaining on hand, and accounted for 
the proceeds of the same, forthwith systematically arrange the books, 
records, papers, etc., of their late office, that they may easily be referred 
to and examined, pack them in secure and water-proof boxes, and for- 
ward the same, so marked as to indicate their contents, together with 
their i-espcctive resignations, addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury, 
Washington City. 

HUGH Mcculloch, 

Secretary of the Treasury. 



